ABSTRACT
The study investigated the effect of beekeeping on poverty status of women in Ogun and Kaduna States, Nigeria. Ogun State Beekeepers Network group (OBNG) and Beekeeping Extension Society (BES) in Kaduna State were purposively chosen for the study. OBNG has a population of 214 women beekeepers while BES has 256. A sample of 107 and 128 which represent 50% of the women beekeepers‟ were randomly selected from the population respectively, giving a total of 235 women beekeepers used for the study. The analytical tools employed were mean, mean-scores, percentages, mean per capita household income, gross margin, logit regression analysis, Pearson Products Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Z-test. The result of socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents showed that 65.7% and 94% of beekeepers in Ogun and Kaduna States respectively, were in their active age with mean beekeeping experience of 4.6 years and 8.8 years, respectively. This shows that beekeeping is relatively a new enterprise among the respondents. Majority of the beekeepers were small scale producers with an average of 23 and 12 hives in Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively. The study further revealed that 72.5% and 69.53% of the beekeepers in Ogun and Kaduna States had temporary access to land, respectively. Seventy four percent of them in Ogun State did not belong to beekeeping cooperative whereas 70% of the beekeepers in Kaduna States belong to beekeeping cooperative. The beekeepers had limited (17% and 6% of Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively) access to credit. Majority (93% and 79% of beekeepers in Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively) were not visited by extension agent. Honey and bee wax were the major bee products produced by the beekeepers. Result of mean per adult household income analysis revealed N78,861 and N34,604 as poverty line with a resultant 45% and 48% of the beekeepers considered as been poor in Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively. An average rate of returns of N2.54 and N3.75 per N1 invested by beekeepers in Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively was obtained. Logit regression analysis established that age, beekeeping experience, farm size, household size, number of dependants, cooperative, extension services and training were the major determinant of poverty status of the beekeepers. The significant coefficients of PPMC results were within the range of -.259 to .294, suggesting that beekeeping weakly alleviates poverty status of the beekeepers in the study areas while Z-test analysis revealed that there is significant difference between profitability of beekeepers in Ogun and Kaduna States, respectively at 1% level of probability. Theft, bush burning, predators, vandalization of hives and climate change were some of the major problems militating against beekeeping in the study area. Cost and return analysis indicated that honey bee production is highly profitable in the study areas. Based on the findings of this study, beekeepers are advised to scale up production, combine production with various methods of value addition in order to produce varieties of secondary products from honeybee. This will provide wider market, improve their earning and invariably make beekeeping a better poverty alleviation strategy. Beekeeping cooperative should be strengthened and members are encouraged to pool their resources together to attract credit from financial institutions.
